7. Terms, Conditions & Useful Information for Swimming Lessons
Below is some information and terms and conditions for swimmers on our swimming lesson programme. You should review these terms and conditions before embarking on swimming lessons with us.
All our lessons are taught in accordance with Swim England, in most of our lessons we have added an additional lifesaving element.
All our lessons are delivered by qualified swimming teachers who are all DBS checked.
All teachers are qualified to teach up to 20 swimmers of mixed ability, but we aim to teach lessons with a ratio of 1:4 for beginners, 1:8 for the higher level lessons, 1:16 for Stage 10, Rookie, Lifesaving & Phoenix Swimming Club.
Payment and Enrolment
- Bollington Health & Leisure (BH&L) swimming lessons must be pre booked and pre paid before the start of the course
- All preschool class costs are calculated on a termly basis, you pay for the remaining weeks left in the present term
- All other classes, Stages 1-10, Phoenix, Rookie, Lifesaving and Adult lessons are paid for in 10 week blocks
- During the final three weeks of your block of lessons you will be sent email reminders for your next payment. If we do not receive payment from you before your final lesson you will automatically be removed from our system
- Swimmers will not be allowed into a swimming lesson unless they are on the teachers register
- BH&L will not issue a credit or refund for lessons missed due to holidays and illness
- If your child has special requirement, a medical condition or relevant medication it is important that this information is on our system, please ensure you inform reception about any ongoing or new developments
Teaching
- BH&L reserves the right to replace swimming teachers if necessary, should this occur refunds will not be given
- In the event of an instructor being absent, we will endeavour to find a replacement, if a replacement cannot be found we will place 2 classes of similar ability together
- Swimming teachers are only responsible for pupils during their lesson, parents/guardians are responsible before the start of the lesson and immediately after
- Parents/guardians must refrain from distracting the swimming teachers during lessons. If you would like to discuss your child’s progress please visit reception
- Parents are not permitted on poolside; pupils may walk to their allocated bench and sit and wait no more than 5 minutes before the start of the lesson, alternatively teachers will come to the shower area to collect swimmers
- Classes may be changed due to supply and demand, you will always be offered an alternative class, we will notify you in advance about any changes
- Some children will be upset, all teachers are trained to look after crying children, we may ask for your input, but we will endeavour to calm your child without parental intervention where possible, if you have any concerns please visit reception
- Pupils swim more efficiently with close fitting swim wear, we advise no jewellery to be worn during lessons
- There will be an amount of manual handling involved during lessons, this is to ensure the correct body position is attained and to help aid limbs through the correct pathway
- Goggles are not to be worn unless your child is in Stage 4 or above
Pool Closure and Cancelled Lessons
- In the event of a closure BH&L will make every attempt to contact swimmers as soon as possible via email or website
- In the unusual event of a pool closure, a credit will be given in lieu of lessons cancelled
Refund Policy
- Refunds for lessons will only be given within 7 working days of making the booking. This will be subject to an administration fee of £10.
- Any refunds after this time issued by BH&L will be in credits against your swimming lesson account and will be used as such from the following block of lessons
- Refund credits can be transferred to other swimmers
- BH&L will not issue credits for missed swimming lessons for reasons such as holiday or illness
- BH&L will only offer refunds in form of a Cheque or Debit/ Credit Card. No cash refunds, other than one the day purchases can be actioned.
- For prolonged illness, for example a broken leg, requests for credits can be made at reception. Medical credit requests must be accompanied by a medical note issued by a medical professional.
- Refund will be issued via your payment card and will hit your bank within 1-3 working days of the refund of the transaction
- If a swimmer is required to quarantine for any reason, the lessons will not be eligible for a refund.
Child Protection and Welfare
- If any allegations are disclosed to our members of staff, we are obligated to report these to the relevant authorities
- If we have grounds to suspect any child protection issues we are also obligated to seek further advice
- To adhere to our child protection policy can you refrain from taking videos and photos whilst on the premises
If any of your details change eg. email address, postal address, telephone number or medical information please notify us as soon as possible
We hope that you and/or your children enjoy your aquatic journey with us, should you need to contact us please call reception on 01625 574774 or email reception@bollingtonleisure.co.uk
Teacher Training Crash Course - What to expect
As the crash course involves teachers in training things may be a little different from what you usually expect in regular term time lessons –
- All lessons are fully overseen by the course tutor, who has overall responsibility for the practical poolside sessions
- Lessons will be taught by a different teacher everyday
- Class sizes may differ from what you are used to in our weekly classes
- Children that do not normally wear arm discs may, at the start of the week, be asked to wear them. This is for safety and the teachers should be reducing arm discs throughout the week once they get used to the standard of swimmer
- The teachers are working towards a nationally recognised qualification, which it is possible to fail. As such they can be nervous so please direct ALL enquires to reception, centre staff will pass on all messages to poolside (this includes information you would like the teacher to know, for example if your child is scared to jump in)
- The trainee teacher may not yet be familiar with the teaching syllabus and as such may not be equipped to make an informed decision as to which class children should be in for the following term, so please do not ask them – these enquiries should also be directed to reception
- At the end of the week, to say thank you for helping to train the teachers we will give out sweets to the swimmers, usually in the form of fun size chocolate or jelly sweets. If you would prefer your child to not receive these then please let reception know.
Although lessons may be different feedback from training crash course is always positive, with the swimmers enjoying the variety that the new teachers bring and all feedback will be greatly received, so if you have any questions, comments or queries please see reception at any time.
Thanks again for helping us to train our teachers and we hope you enjoy your time with us.
The team at Bollington Health & Leisure